So I was having a debate with my Father-in-Law...?

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delsydebothom

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...about the age of man. He was claiming that humans are a 3 million year-old species. But as far as I remember, most scientists can only trace the existence of modern man back about 200 thousand years. Am I right or wrong?

How was this date arrived at?

Is there any evidence that could lead someone to believe that man was older?
 
You're much closer to being right than your FIL. Homonid species have certainly been around since 3 million years ago (longer, actually). I found two different dates for the appearance of modern humans, Homo sapiens:

250,000 years from this site:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_evolution#Homo_sapiens

and 195,000 years from this site:
http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/homs/species.html

In either case, you're still much closer to being right. I hope that helps. Good luck!
 
Modern human (Homo sapiens) are around 200,000 years old. He may be thinking of human ancestors (genus Homo), which would be much older.
Check out:
http://www.archaeologyinfo.com/homosapiens.htm
 
The evolutionary path of primates (of which humans are a member) can be traced back in fossil records to about 85 million years ago. As to actual human species (the Homidae) the earliest example we have thus far is Homo habilis, which lived about 2.4 to 1.4 million years ago. Homo sapiens, the species of humans that live on the world today appeared about 250,000 years ago. So depending on which species of Homo you and your father in law are speaking about, you are both right. If you are talking only about H. sapiens, modern man, then you are more correct.
 
There are fossils of primitive human like beings dating back several million years. Look up some information on evolution of man. These are not generally considered true humans, though. They might be human ancestors.

Edit: That link above is an anti-evolution group, so take it or leave it with a grain of salt as they say.
 
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